Proposal Story 1

How he proposed by Courtney Westby

Some background information,

Justin and I have been dating for almost three years yet only see each other a few times a year. I am finishing up my undergrad at Grand Valley and he is serving his country in the Marine Corp. We became official on Feb 17, 2006 and he left for boot camp on May 14 (mother’s day). Those three months were the longest span of time we have been together.

This past summer I spent my days doing an internship in California near his base so that we could date. It was the most amazing 75 days of my life and I fell so much deeper in love with him. When I flew home on July 7, I was so heartbroken knowing I wouldn’t get to hold his hand or kiss him until Christmas. Lucky for me, Justin had other plans.

On August 18, I was celebrating my friend Betsy’s birthday with a day at the beach followed by dominos with Grandma and Grandpa at the Elks campground. My other friend Chelsea planned the whole day and made sure everything was perfect for Betsy (or so I thought, her birthday is really in January). We laid out for a few hours at the beach and decided to shower in the camp ground and get dressed up so we could go out for dinner. Being the tom boy that I am, I was reluctant to get dressed up and do my hair because I had no need to impress anyone. I lost the battle and wound up showering, straightening my hair and putting on a dress.

Meanwhile, Justin was making the 4 hour flight from San Diego to Chicago where his parents were awaiting his arrival. The whole time he was traveling, he made sure to text me throughout the day so I would not think anything was up. He even told me how boring work was for him that day!

Betsy, Chelsea and I went out for dinner at a pizza parlor before heading out to Muskegon to meet with Grandma and Grandpa for a competitive game of dominos. On our drive to the Elks Chelsea received a call from her cousin, Jocelyn who was on a boat in Lake Michigan and wanted to pick us up for a spin around 8:30. The three of us girls were game and excited for the adventure that lay ahead. After two games of dominos at about 8:30, we ran to the car and grabbed sweatshirts and took off running toward the beach to catch the boat. We reached the path to the water when I began to notice long stem roses along the walkway.

When I reached the top of the staircase, I noticed 15 people all watching the sunset from the stairs. As I began to walk down the stairs, I realized there was no boat waiting yet there was a path of rose petals from the base of the stairs to MY MARINE!! He had set up a blanket and candles and wrote I love you baby in the sand. I hit the sand and started running. I ran right into Justins arms and he held me tight, kissed my forehead and told me that he loved me more than anything in the world. With the most beautiful sunset behind him, he dropped to a knee and asked to marry me.

That was only the beginning to the most amazing week with my fiance. He had arranged for people to pick up all of my work shifts so that I could spend the whole week in his arms. It was the most amazing time ever.

Now we just have to wait until September when we can be together forever.